Blue Jays seldom-used lefty reliever finds a new home in the NL Central

When it came to relievers that played a huge role in the success of the Toronto Blue Jays during their 2025 MLB season, Justin Bruihl certainly wasn’t one that quickly comes to mind for Blue Jays fans. After all, Bruihl was seldomly used by Blue Jays management during his time with the club, the 28-year-old left-hander has found a new home for 2026 after the NL Central St. Louis Cardinals acquired him in a trade with the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday.

Bruihl was signed to a minor league contract by the Blue Jays prior to the start of the 2025 season to add valuable left-handed pitching depth to their bullpen. After beginning the year with the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate Buffalo Bisons, he would eventually see action with the big league club in multiple short stints throughout the year as a result of injuries or roster management.

In the end, Bruihl would appear in just 15 games for Toronto, posting a less-than-stellar 5.27 ERA, 1.90 WHIP, giving up eight earned runs on a whopping 19 hits with seven walks and 18 strikeouts in just 13.2 innings pitched. His strikeout ability was his main calling card, but his troubles with preventing runners from reaching base plagued him for the most part during his time with the Blue Jays.

Blue Jays seldom-used lefty reliever finds a new home in the NL Central

Surprisingly, despite the struggles, Bruihl was somehow included on the Blue Jays’ ALDS roster against the New York Yankees, likely due to the fact that Toronto wanted another lefty in the bullpen to deal with situational matchups. The 28-year-old reliever would end up getting into just one game where he gave up two earned runs on three hits, including a home run, in just one third of an inning. With that performance, Bruihl was subsequently left off the roster for the remainder of the Blue Jays postseason.

During the 2025-26 offseason, he was ultimately designated for assignment by Toronto to make room for their new free agent signing in Tyler Rogers. Bruihl would then become a member of the Guardians organization when they acquired him from the Blue Jays for cash considerations. However, he would suffer the same DFA fate just three days later when Cleveland signed veteran reliever Shawn Armstrong. That eventually led to his current trade to the Cardinals as he looks for another chance to prove himself once again.

With the lack of lefty options currently in the St. Louis bullpen after closer JoJo Romero, Bruihl could have the upper hand in landing an Opening Day roster spot given his previous MLB experience. Nevertheless, he will now have the opportunity to get his career back on track as he hopes to recapture his form that he first demonstrated in his early years with the Los Angeles Dodgers.